Eurobank Ergasias

The General Index of the Athens Stock Exchange opened with small losses, which is a breath away from the 1,400-point target, while Motor Oil’s shares are in the spotlight today, following MSCI’s surprise decision to leave it out of the MSCI Standard Greece index.

The week started on the right foot at the Athens Stock Exchange, with the market recovering some important ground from last Monday's 6.27% mini-crash and closing just shy of 1,400 points.

The rebound, which had started last Tuesday, had stalled on Thursday and Friday.

Sellers regained the reins of the domestic market, as part of consolidating some of the gains from the two-day upward reaction on August 6-7, following the -6.27% “Black Monday” (August 5).

Greece's "big four" banks (Alpha, Eurobank, National and Piraeus) posted first-half profits totaling €2.3 billion and significantly reduced exposure to bad loans, while also containing operating costs, ratings agency DBRS has noted. 

Despite some of them (like Alpha) resuming dividend payments after many years, capital reserves have strengthened, the agency notes.

The second quarter of the year (April-June) was a good one for Greek banks, NBG securities says in a note following the announcement of the first-half results of the "big four" banks (Alpha, Eurobank, National and Piraeus).

On Monday (5/8), the General Index plunged by -7.37%, trading at 1,325.49 points, fluctuating between a low of 1,325.03 and a high of 1,428.01 points.

The current scenario reflects one of the most significant daily declines in recent years, comparable to February 24, 2022 (-6.42%) and March 23, 2020 (-7.58%). If the index falls below 1,300 points, it risks wiping out 2024’s gains.

Judging by the plans of Greece's biggest banks to use their central Athens properties to relocate their offices or to otherwise use them commercially, one can be excused for being under the impression they want to turn Stadiou Street, one of the capital's main streets and the one where commercial properties were hardest hit by the financial crisis, into a mini City of London.

Experts say the Greek economy will grow at a slower pace than expected, affecting expectations for inflation and also for interest rates.

Eurobank has revised upward its objectives for 2024, raising the estimate for organic operating profits to over 1.6 billion euros against €1.5 billion in its previous estimate, a return on equity close to 16.5% vs 15%, NPL ratio of 3% vs 3.5% previously estimated and a capital ratio of 17%.

Banks led the Greek stock market to a remarkable rally on Wednesday, which compounded the month's gains to see the benchmark at Athinon Avenue end July 5.26% higher than its level at end-June. The interest in the market was also highlighted by the significant increase in turnover, though rising stocks only marginally outnumbered decliners on the day.